Badger & Snake
by LovelyDragons
Summary: Harry's adventures told out the point of view of a Hufflepuff girl with close ties to the Malfoy family. The story starts with the Golden Trio fifth year at Hogwarts. What path shall she choose? Will so go with her heart or morals?
1. Chapter 1 Last Day of Summer

**Last Day of Summer  
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><p>Her grey-blue eyes wandered over the boy sitting before her. His gaze was fixated on the chessboard between them. A little frown played with his almost silver-like eyebrows. She knew his face for far too long to not not know what he was thinking.<p>

He couldn't lose to a girl. That would be a disgrace.

He couldn't lose to a Hufflepuff either. That would be an even greater disgrace.

A little smirk appeared on her lips, curling the corners of her mouth. They both knew it. The battle was over. The little moving chess pieces seemed to realize it themselves as well. One of the black pawns had raised his hand and shook it out of anger. Her white horse would throw over his black king. Battle lost. She won.

And suddenly his grey eyes met hers. For a second she forgot how to breathe. His grin always seemed to have that effect on her.

"It looks like even badger can be cunning – sometimes." He had lost the match, but nothing of his arrogance. Or his bias-opinions. Ofcourse not. He was a Slytherin through and through. Looking down on everyone below him. Thinking they are less worthy and detestable just for the fact they aren't him. It was a disgusting character treat, but at the same time she found it irresistible.

And he would never look down on her. Not really.

They had known each other since birth. Their parents had always been close. At least... His parents and her father. Her mother had fled the country at the times when You-Know-Who was at the top of his powers. Her father... Well, her father had made different choices.

Those choices were why she could meet this blonde haired boy. Even though she was in the 'wrong' house. Her father would never say it to her face, but she heard him talking with mister Malfoy once. It was right after her first year at Hogwarts. The two families were spending the summer together as usual and she was supposed to be in bed.

Supposed to: she never liked rules that much.

She heard them talking by the fire. _"It must be her mothers blood, she also was a Hufflepuff and look were it brought her. Her tails between her legs in a different country. Sickenly. I always taught my little girl was different, more a snake than a badger. Guess I was wrong."  
><em>  
>Nevertheless she spent most of her summers at the Malfoys. Although she didn't agree with them for the most part, she kept her mouth shut. Because he was there as well. He with his enchanting grey eyes and consistent smirk. His smart mouth and witty comments. Yeah, he was the worst kind of jerk, but like said: he was also kind of irresistible. She couldn't remember the moment when she realized she had grown very fond of him, but a certain longing teased the shadows of her mind.<p>

"Draakje."

He looked up, astonished. He was busy putting the protesting chess pieces back in their box, the still angry black pawn was held in his hand.

"I think I deserve a reward. Don't you think so? I mean... It is very difficult to beat such an excellent chess player." She knew he could recognize the sarcasm in her voice, but he still liked her flattering words.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" His voice was patronizing as usual. She didn't care. She had a thick skin and it would take a lot more to hurt her.

"I always wanted to kiss a dragon, you know." Her eyes glittered with slight provocation.

The boy grinned in his notorious typical way. "Well, that's an understable wish."

His words were merely spoken because he wanted to tease her. It wouldn't be the first kiss they shared and probably not the last. Somehow in the time they had spent together it sort of happened. Perhaps thanks to some provocation on her side during the yule ball last year, but that was just the little push he had needed. She could still hear him say: _"how dared that disgusting Weasley touch you?"_ She never told him it was her who asked one of the red-heared twins to the ball. 'Unnecessary' information she believed.

Now he leaned forward, narrowing the distance between their bodies. The girl copied his smirk as his hand caressed her cheek. She knew he would never admit it, but when it came to persuasion and manipulation they were each others equals. Now was this blonde haired boy not the most difficult to manipulate and to be honest, Draco himself wouldn't need much to manipulate her.

"Badger," he whispered against her mouth as he slowly got closer.

And suddenly the door of the bedroom was slammed open. Out of shock the girl felt to the right and, of course, rolled of the bed falling on the cold ground. A soft curse was whispered as she placed her hand on her pain filled head.

"Dad!," she could hear next to her, spoken with a frightened high-pitched voice. "This isn't what it looks like!"

She rolled her eyes.

_Bloody cowardly daddy's boy._

Slowly she raised her head above the bed and saw how Draco tried to fix is hair, which didn't go smoothly thanks to his panic. In the opening of the door stood a tall man, with long, blonde hair. His face showed a slight disgust as he looked at the two. The girl wanted to roll with her eyes again, but could resist the temptation.

_Bloody bias-based snake._

"I came to inform you... two," the last word was spoken with slight anger, "that we will be leaving for Hogwarts Express in about an hour. Be sure to be ready."

Her eyes followed him as the man left the room. So this was how her fifth year at Hogwarts was going to start. With a pissed off Lucius Malfoy and Draco probably ignoring her for the coming weeks in an effort trying to please his dad.

How wonderfull – she was already looking forward for it.

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><p><strong>Hi ya ~! I am happy you took the time to read the first chapter of this little story. This first couple of chapters are quite short, but as the story continues the chapters get longer (and better written if I may so myself...) So I hope I cought your interest and you will enjoy the adventures of Sanne Zwarthart and her (non)-Hufflepuff friends :) <strong>


	2. Chapter 2 Hogwarts Express

**Hogwarts Express  
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><p>Dressed in muggle clothes she was standing on the station. Her eyes wandered over the red train and were searching for familiar faces. She was wearing a ripped jeans and a baggy, white shirt. Her shoes, black Dr. Martens, she would need to change when she got close to Hogwarts. Such a pity. She liked wearing them. They were a lot more comfortable than the low heels that matched her school uniform.<p>

"Saa~aanne."

As she turned to the source of the voice and noticed a dark boy with dreadlocks. "Your dreads are getting long," he said pointing at her own locks. A grin could be found on both faces. "I know, Lee! I am so proud."

Although he was a from a different house, she was close with Lee Jordan. She could say that it was a hobby of hers to cause ruckus with him and the Weasley twins. Speaking of the twins... Where were they? The train was about to leave and she hadn't seen those redheads anywhere.

"By the way, I am going to join you and the Weasleys in the train. Both Hannah and Ernie are chosen as prefect and need to go to some sort of meeting." People which knew her well, could her a slight jealousy in her voice. To be honest she had thought she would have been chosen as a prefect. She could still hear Draco his laughter when he got a badge and she didn't.

Not fair.

"Oh, that is fine. We can test some objects Fred and George made this summer."

"Who said Fred?" "Who said George?"

As if they were summoned both twins suddenly stood behind Lee. The girl with the dreadlocks couldn't help but to laugh softly. The surprised look on the Gryffindors boy his face was quite priceless.

"Hey Sanne, shouldn't you hang out with your snake-like boyfriend?" "Yeah, if you hang around with us too much you are going to have way too much fun. Which is terrible of course," the twins joked.

Her laughter stopped, but a little grin stayed. "I won't be seeing much of my 'boyfriend' these coming weeks. So you guys better drown me in fun."

As the Weasleys and Lee Jordan started discussing some new inventions, her gaze found the 'boy who lived' which was petting a huge, black dog. To be honest she never liked Potter. At least not until the end of last school year.

Her disliking was thanks to Draco always being negative about the boy _("perfect Potter, with his scar and broomstick")_, but also because she never saw him do something incredible. He got all that fame without actually proving he was worth it – at least from her point of view. She always thought he would be quite arrogant.

But her opinions had changed when she had seen the look on his face after Cedric's death. In the weeks that followed and rumours she heard about him, Sanne found some respect towards the boy who lived.

"Ey, Sanne do you _want_ to miss the train?" It was Lee who had asked the question and now had a questionable expression on his face as if he wondered if it was an option to stay behind and find a more spectacular way to go to Hogwarts.

"No," the girl laughed, "I don't think I can find a flying car that quick."

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><p>The four stayed in their 'own' coupe during the first half of the journey. Lee and the twins discussed and tried out some new inventions while Sanne glared out of the window. The weather was strange. One moment bright and sunny, the next dark and gloomy.<p>

After a while, and honestly getting sick of the huge pimples on the twins their faces, the girl decided to change to her school uniform and look for her two housemates: Ernie and Hannah. That damn meeting should be done by now, right?

"Bye lovelies, make sure to keep some of those fever fudges safe for me."

Still with a little grin on her face the dreadlocked girl left the coupe and started wandering through the Hogwarts Express. Where could those Hufflepuff-ers be?

An arm blocked her path. A voice followed.

"Wearing the wrong housecolours is not permitted, miss Zwarthart."

Ofcourse it was Draco and of course shone the 'P' of the prefect-badge on his black coat. And, _ofcourse,_ were Goyle and Crabbe standing right behind him. Sanne always wondered whether those two boys were Draco his friend, henchmen or bodyguards. Probably a little bit of everything. And she really didn't want them to be here right now. Honestly, she wasn't even feeling like seeing Draco at this moment.

Not when he was like this.

"I don't know what's wrong, _Malfoy_," the blonde guy flinched for a second – he hated it when she called him by his last name, "I wear the yellow colours. The colours of my house. Hufflepuff."

A grin had found the corners of his lips, a slight sparkle in his eyes teased her to fight him with her words. Only he could be a so vexatious and alluring at the same time.

Her heart skipped a beat when he placed his fingers under her chin. Within seconds he came closer to her and she could feel his body warmth caressing her skin. His mouth was close to her left ear. For a moment she felt like her lungs didn't know how to breathe anymore.

"Hufflepuff doesn't deserve you."

The magic was gone as soon as the boy had spoken those words. With an angry face and a sick feeling she stepped away from him and his enchanting aura.

"Shut up, Draco." The tone in her voice was resentful, but also hurt.

"Don't speak like Hufflepuff is worth anything less than Slytherin." She could feel the anger rushing through her veins. "When somebody from Hufflepuff wins something, you at least know it was thanks to their hard work." She walked past Draco, pushing Goyle and Crabbe aside, which didn't dared to react without their leaders approval. "When a Slytherin wins something you know it's either bought or gained through deceit."

A soft laugh followed her words. "And, darling, how can you be proud of that?"

Quickly she walked away before the boy had time to reply. She didn't want to get caught in the argument. Not now. Not about this.

To be fair: she had doubted the decision of the sorting hat many, many times. Her way of thinking seemed way too dark to belong to Hufflepuff, but the thought of living with Slytherins everyday made her feel sick. Yeah. She wanted to be great and she always felt like she had to be the best, but only through fair play. At least – that was what she told herself. In the back of her mind she knew she would go far to get what she wanted. She just didn't like admitting it.

"Sanne!" The happy voice of Hannah Abbott distracted her from her thoughts and when she looked up, away from her feet, she saw the cheerful face which belonged to the voice.

"Ernie and are in this coupe." The hands of the girl found her arm and dragged her through the hallway. "Justin, Susan and Megan are there as well. Justin can't shut up about his summer, so some new stories are welcome!"

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><p>After countless chocolate frogs and every flavoured beans, Sanne almost forgot her little fight with the Malfoy son.<p>

Almost.

A sick feeling still lingered in her in the back of her head. Please, didn't let this be just a little preview of what she was going to get the whole year...


	3. Chapter 3 The Sorting Ceremony

**The Sorting Ceremony**

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><p>Walking into the Great Hall for the first time each school year, it was hard not to feel like you were returning home again after a long vacation. The floating candles were burning and spread a kind warmth. The students seemed to have at least a thousand stories to tell. Same could be said about the different ghosts.<p>

But walking past the long tables, Sanne heard that not all the stories were happy tales. More than enough were about Potter and the remarks the Daily Prophet had made about him.

"My parents almost didn't let me go back to Hogwarts! They say Potter is crazy and Dumbledore must be bonkers to let him stay at Hogwarts!"

It was just one of the comments she heard as we walked to the Hufflepuff table. A slight frowned played with her eyebrows. She, as well, had read the Daily Prophet during the summer. After a week it started to bore her, but Draco seemed to fancy reading all the Potter-comments out loud. And to be honest, most of them were funny – but it was quite sad that so many people took them serious. Even more sad was that some parents seriously doubted Dumbledore his decisions.

"You get wrinkles if you frown too much," Megan jokingly said when Sanne sat next to her.

The girl with the dreadlocks pouted her lips a little bit. Something she always did when she was lost in thought.

"Do you believe what the Daily Prophets writes about Potter and Dumbledore?"

Her question silenced the group which surrounded her. She could see how Hannah and Ernie looked at each other with a slight shock in their eyes. Justin, sitting on the edge of the group, turned his back and started a conversation with the sixth year student sitting next to him.

At last it was Hannah who opened her mouth to answer the question.

"I.. I don't know. Dumbledore was never really clear to explain what happened to Cedric and many people are still left wondering."

"Some people even say that Harry killed him," Susan spoke with a soft voice which slightly trembled.

"Well! We all know that is a lie!"

Sanne was quite surprised to see that Justin suddenly decided to take part of the conversation. "Everyone said that Harry was the one who petrified me back in the second year and that turned out be false as well, so I don't believe he harmed Cedric either."

Before any of the group could reply, the doors of the Great Hall opened and the first years entered. The next looked even more nervous than the one that followed and so on. As usual professor McGonagall lead the students while she held the Sorting Hat in her hands.

The Sorting ceremonies was one of Sanne her favourite events. The anxious first years were just too cute to look at. She remembered standing there herself, not sure what to expect, feeling the eyes of the older students looking down on her. The experience was awful and that was exactly why it was funny to see the new students undergo the same.

The Sorting Hat started with song and... didn't seem to stop.

It was hard to find the concentration to listen to the whole song and soon her grey-blue eyes travelled across the hall.

Just now she looked a the teacher's table at the end of the hall. Two things caught her attention immediately. First was the missing figure of Hagrid. A giant man like him was hard not to notice even when he wasn't there. Sanne was left wondering where he could be.

The second thing she noticed was the toad-like figure next to Dumbledore. The bright pink colours made it difficult not to see her. Sanne could feel how a slight shiver was travelling down her spine. She knew nothing about that woman, but her aura alone was bad enough.

At last her eyes fell to the other side of the Hall, trying to find Draco. The Sorting Hat had just said something about Slytherin and purebloods, when she saw the blonde haired boy. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Her eyes lingered just a little bit longer until he noticed her. His grin stayed and she could swear she could see the provocation in his eyes from here. _'Yeah, purebloods are the best.'_ Is what she could read from his expression before she quickly looked away.

Not quite sure how she felt, she listened to the ending of the very long song and to the ruckus which followed after that.

"He _never_ had a song so long!," spoke Megan with surprise.

Sanne just shrugged her shoulders. To be honest, she couldn't really care less about the Sorting Hat and his song at this moment. She was more concerned about the new teacher.

"Who is she?," she asked to Ernie. As a prefect maybe he knew more information about this new figure.

Ernie shrugged his shoulders as well. "Probably the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher", he whispered before McGonagall called the first name and a very nervous boy listening to the name of 'Abeel, Elco' stepped forward.

The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, eh? That she could have guessed herself. Looking at woman in pink, Sanne thought that she would probably need defence against her. Her aura was just so... unsettling.

A thought which was confirmed after Dumbledore had introduced her.

Umbridge... That name sounded almost troll-like and seemed to suit her.

The way she tried to get everyone's attention just seconds after her introduction was even more troll-like. Her speech was disgusting. Sanne couldn't find any other words to describe it. Her patronizing manner of speaking was almost shaming and felt highly uncomfortable.

At the end of the unusual speech, the girl with the dreadlocks glanced sideways and saw how this time Megan was the one frowning.

"That speech," she murmured softly.

"What about it?"

Sanne hadn't made much of it. Just thought of it as an annoying way to get attention and nothing more. Megan didn't seem to agree with that.

"I have the feeling the Ministry is trying to get a grip on Hogwarts," Megan looked at her with an expression of concern. "You know, Umbrigde works for the Ministry. My mom told me she a highly unpleasant woman to be around with."

Even the great meal which followed couldn't completely calm Sanne down again. Somehow this year felt different. The fact that Draco started to annoy her just a little bit, the new Defence Against the Dark Art teacher, the unusual long song of the Sorting Hat.

It were odd, little facts of which she couldn't predict how things would change from here on out.


	4. Chapter 4 An Evening in the Library

**An Evening in the Library**

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><p>"I am thinking about trying out for the new Hufflepuff Seeker, but it somehow feels wrong."<p>

The first two days of the new school year had passed. Sanne found herself in the library in a silent corner close to the history books. Thanks to the dreadful lessons by professor Binns, most people now lost their interest in the Wizard History and this part of the library was almost forgotten.

Therefore it made the perfect place for her and Draco to hang around. They both sat on the same wide windowsill. The Slytherin boy was playing with her dreadlocks as the girl laid against him. Her grey-blue eyes stared outside the window. In her lap she had her book for Defence Against the Dark Arts, but she had lost her interest for the pages a long time ago.

"Yeah, it would be pretty odd to have you as my rival," the boy whispered while he let go of her hair and put his arms around her waist.

"Draco. That was _not_ what I meant," her voice was angry, but she didn't seemed to be opposed to his hug.

"I was thinking about Cedric Diggory," Sanne muttered.

Almost immediately she could hear a slight snicker behind her. "I don't think he would be any problem. At least... I have never seen a ghost catch a snitch before. Have you?"

Quickly she punched with her elbow in his stomach, causing the blonde haired boy to curse.

"What was that for?," he complained.

"For being insensitive," was the girl her fast reply as she rolled with her eyes.

"Maybe I am 'insensitive', but at the same time you are making problems when they aren't there. Diggory is dead. You can't change that and even the Hufflepuff Quidditch team seems to accept that fact. They have clearly moved on if they are searching for a new Seeker."

Draco was right, but it didn't change her feelings. Somehow it felt the same as dancing on Cedric's grave in a way. It was her being oversensitive about it all. She knew that, but still. It just felt wrong.

"And," the Slytherin boy whispered in her ear, "it would be quite hot to have you as my rival. Odd for sure, but hot at the same time."

Sanne couldn't keep a grin from her face. "Oh, shut up Draco," she said quietly, but she knew for sure Draco knew she was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

For a while they said nothing anymore. The couple just watched the sky colours change outside while they held each other hands. This part was of the library was little piece of heaven if you asked Sanne. Draco was different when it was just the two of them: more relaxed, more fun. And she knew he didn't like being seen with her. A Slytherin dating someone from Hufflepuff would be such a scandal.

Not that they were actually 'dating'. Not really. They were just 'together' when they could be. Discussing lessons, students and the like. Dating sounded wrong for what they had. Too exclusive and official.

"I think Umbrigde is going to be great for this school." At least it was Draco who broke the silence.

"What?," Sanne laughed. "You are joking, right? She is horrible."

"No. Father says she is a great teacher and she is in Hogwarts to make it, finally, a normal and good school." As soon as she heard the word 'father', she knew the discussion was over. If Lucius said something, Draco would say exactly the same.

"But don't you want to use magic during the Defence Against the Dark Arts?" she couldn't help to argue, because it was just crazy to support a teacher like Umbridge.

"Well," now it was Draco his time to mutter, "at least she already gave Potter what he deserved! Finally a teacher which isn't all swooning over him!"

Sanne sighed. "To be honest I think it was quite brave what he did."

Immediately she could feel how the boy leaned back, away from her. "You aren't becoming a Potter-fan, are you?," he said with disgust in his voice.

"No, Draco. I still dislike him as a person, but nevertheless he was brave. It takes guts to speak the truth in times like this."

"You think he spoke -"

"Draco!"

The Slytherin was abruptly stopped when somebody else than Sanne called out his name. Both their grey and grey-blue eyes turned away from the window, towards the library. An angry looking girl with black hair was standing next to the windowsill.

Pansy Parkinson.

With slight disdain Sanne looked at the other girl. Some people would say Pansy was quite pretty, but when the dreadlocked girl looked at her, she could only see a pug. Add some drool and the comparison would be perfect.

Especially if Pansy looked angry liked she did now. The Slytherin girl had her arms folded across her chest and tapped with her shoes on the floor.

"Draco, we were supposed to do an inspection-round through the school. Together. Because we are prefects. Together."

Sanne could hear the jealousy in her voice and couldn't resist to snuggle with Draco a little bit more. She wasn't the typical sweet Hufflepuff girl when it came to this. Sharing wasn't her favourite activity, let alone sharing with a girl like Pansy.

"Draco," Pansy her voice got more nagging every second.

At least Draco sighed and pushed Sanne softly away from him. "Alright, alright," he moaned as he get up from the windowsill.

He walked towards the black haired girl, but glanced over his shoulder with a sneaky grin. "Remember what I said about being my rival, Badger," were his last words before he walked away with the other prefect.

But Sanne couldn't just let him leave with Pansy. It would feel like she had lost to the Slytherin girl and her pride couldn't accept that. No way.

"Draakje!"

She rushed from the windowsill and ran towards the boy who stood still between the many, enormous bookcases, looking at her with curious eyes. Before he could say anything, Sanne had thrown her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on lips.

"Now," she whispered against his mouth. "Now, you may leave," and she let him go.

She could see his arrogant smirk as he walked away with Pansy. Pansy herself looked over her shoulder with an expression filled with venom. Sanne could only stick out her tongue. Draco belonged to her – not to a pug-faced girl.


	5. Chapter 5 Puking Pastilles

**Puking Pastilles  
><strong>

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><p>"I am not sure if I can eat this anymore," Sanne said with a forced suspicious look on her face while she stared at the pastilles between her fingers. One half was bright orange, the other half a deep purple.<p>

"I mean, now that I am the new Hufflepuff seeker, I can't trust people from the opposite team anymore," a grin broke through her face and her eyes lit up with joy. "Especially when they try to make eat something as suspicious as this little thing."

"As if we need foul play to win from Hufflepuff!" Lee Jordan was the first to reply.

It was Saturday. The first week at Hogwarts had passed and Sanne found herself in an empty classroom together with Lee and the Weasley twins.

She really shouldn't be there right now. The amount of homework just given in the first week was terrifying. The blaming look she got from Ernie when she had left the Hufflepuff common room was still burned in her mind. He knew she wasn't going to the library and he also knew she really should have.

Most of her evenings this week Sanne had spent on the Quidditch field practicing for the Quidditch try-outs. Her hard work had paid of: she was the new Hufflepuff seeker. But the pile of homework had only grown and really needed some attention.

Instead she was here in the empty classroom testing the new inventions from the red-heared twins. But who could blame her? The choice between fun and studying had never been a difficult one.

"Just try it, Sanne." "Yeah, we need to know if the effects on girls are any different!" tried the twins to convince her.

She turned her eyes, but her grin hadn't disappeared from her lips. "Alright, alright," she muttered and wanted to put the whole pill in her mouth.

"Wait!" George yelled out.

"First you need to eat the orange half," Fred explained.

Her suspicion slighty grew. In fact she was crazy to try those things out. It wouldn't be the first time experiments went wrong. Although that one time when she suddenly could breathe fire had been pretty awesome.

_Oh, what the heck._

Sanne bit of the orange half, chewed and swallowed it. Immediately Fred pushed a bucket between her hands. Just in time. She gagged and the next moment her breakfast ended up in the bucket. Flowed by a next stream of digested food.

"What is," a next gag cut off her words, "this?!"

She could see Lee and the twins looking at her with a content smirk on their faces. "The effect seems to be the same, boys. Good job," the boy with the dreadlocks spoke.

"Okay, now you eat the purple half," George explained.

Willing Sanne put the purple half on her tongue and chewed. Almost directly she felt better. The gagging stopped and her stomach calmed down. With disgust she placed the bucket with vomit on the table next to her. Lee emptied it with a flick of his wand.

Slowly Sanne brought her hand towards her face, covering her mouth and nose. She could hear the twins celebrating their achievement. "It worked!" "Now we can safely test it on the first-years!"

Sanne gradually let the air she had collected in her lungs slip out. The need to gag again returned as she smelled her own breath. She lowered her hands and noticed that the twins were looking at her with concern written all over their faces.

"What?," George was the first to ask. "Are you feeling sick again?," Fred quickly followed. "Maybe it does work different for girls!," Lee was the last to speak.

"No. I feel fine," the girl laughed. Their concern was, in a way, really cute. Although she suspected they were more concerned about the candy than her. "It's just, you know? My breath." She could see how the boys looked confused which caused her to laugh even more.

"Most girls don't like smelling like puke. Maybe you can add some peppermint in the purple half? Just to make the smell more pleasant?"

The three boys looked at each other in silence and finally burst out in laughter. "And that is why we need you," Fred said between two giggles.

"Yeah, Fred is right." Sanne looked at George who just spoke and their eyes met. For a second they stared at each other and an awkward tension formed.

"Well. Add some peppermint and we are good to go!" The joyous words of Lee made the both of them look away breaking the eye contact, but Sanne still felt as if her thoughts were higgledy-piggledy.

What just happened?

As she glanced side ways again she could see Fred grinning from ear to ear. As she was used to. But it looked as if George his grin was less obvious. And was that a blush on his cheeks? No, it had to be the lighting in the room.

"I need to go! Homework,OWLs! Youguysknowthedeal," she never thought she could speak so quick. The Hufflepuff girl didn't wait for a reply as rushed out of the room.

Why the heck was she feeling so flustered all of sudden, she wondered as she ran towards the Hufflepuff common room. Maybe those pastilles did have some strange effect on her. Yeah, that must have been it. Those damn pills.


	6. Chapter 6 A Strange Monday

**A Strange Monday  
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><p>It was the Sunday afternoon and Sanne had spent the whole day in the Hufflepuff common room. Therefore she hadn't seen George again after the testing of the puking pastilles. It gave her some rest in her mind, yet focusing on her enormous pile of homework wasn't easy. And a disapproving looking Ernie didn't help at all.<p>

Megan had been an angel as always, proposing that Sanne could copy her homework. An offer which the dreadlocked girl, resolutely, had turned down. Her pride wouldn't let her. She either finished all her homework by herself or had to stay in detention. Anything else would feel like cheating.

"You can be so stubborn though," Megan moaned.

Sanne glanced sideways and looked at the girl sitting next to her. Megan had dark blonde hair that she usually wore down, but right now was tied in a ponytail so it didn't irritate her while writing on her parchment.

The girl had a pretty face which she emphasized with dark eyelashes and pink lipstick. Megan was one of the few girls in Hogwarts who wore make-up and Sanne wasn't sure whether it was a sign of her confidence of rather lack of.

"I mean, you could already be finished with History by now," the blonde girl continued.

Sanne leaned on the palm of her hand and switched her gaze to her essay about the start of the Giant Wars. She wasn't even close to finished, still missing about twenty centimeters, and already terribly bored by the topic. Giant Wars sounded interesting enough, but Professor Binns could make any topic dreadful.

"Megan, you know what I am like. I deliver _my_ work or no work at all. And if that means I don't finish my homework, it would be my own responsibility," Sanne replied.

"Well, maybe you should spent less time with Malfoy," the snarly comment came from Ernie who sitting on the otherside of the round table.

"I wasn't even with him. If you are talking about yesterday that is," Sanne immediately snapped back. "And what do you care who I hang around with? And what do you have against Draco?" Her voice got more angry with every word she spoke.

Sanne could feel Megan placing her hand on her arm. "Calm down you blast-ended skrewt, Ernie didn't attack Malfoy or anything," the girl whispered. "He is just concerned for you, that is all."

For a couple of heartbeats Sanne her grey-blue eyes filled with hatred as she stared at the boy sitting across of her. Neither of them were willing to glance away at first.

"You know, yesterday I saw him bullying some first years. Parkinson was with him and I think he only did it to impress her. That's just sad – and you know it. You really have a too romantic view of the Slytherin boy, Sanne. Do you even realize he is a Slytherin?"

There was one thing for sure: Ernie had a lot of guts to continue the conversation. If stares could kill, he would have been dead by now. Sanne had her fingers tightly wrapped around her wand, ready to attack with any spell she liked.

She wasn't sure whether she got so upset because she wanted to protect her childhood friend or because Ernie mentioned Pansy Parkinson. Either way she couldn't focus on her homework anymore. With a furious expression on her face she stood up and gathered her parchment and books.

"Well, maybe you don't realize that the houses are _just_ houses. Even a Slytherin can be good," she growled before walking away.

As she stepped towards the girl rooms, she could hear Megan talking behind her. "Great job, Erns. Now she will never finish homework."

* * *

><p>The next morning Sanne still wouldn't look at Ernie even though he tried to talk to her as if nothing happened. She had her lips tightly pressed together and her arms folded in front of her while Hannah was trying to lighten the atmosphere.<p>

"The Daily Prophet should arrive anytime. Maybe they have some fun articles or gossip about the Weird Sisters. What did you think about their last song, Sanne?"

It was almost painful how Hannah tried to conversation going and Sanne was happy when the owls finally arrived and dropped a Daily Prophet on Hannah her plate.

"What? Why is Umbridge on the front page?" Megan snatched the newspaper away before Hannah even had the change to look at it. Sanne which was sitting next to Megan leaned towards her and read the article.

"Really? High Inquisitor?" the girl with the dreadlocks said with surprise and slight disgust. "I guess we can say our goodbyes to professor Trelawney then." She ignored the shocked look Ernie gave her and read the article for a second time.

"I told you," Megan spoke, "The Ministry is trying to control the way things go in Hogwarts."

Sanne looked at her with a troubled look. "The only question is how far they are willing to go." A slight grin appeared on the corners of her mouth. "At least it is going to be fun to watch her trying to 'inspect' some of the lessons."

That fun would need to wait for a couple of lessons as Umbridge didn't turn up during History and the lesson was as boring as always. Ernie was busy taking notes, he and that Granger-girl were probably the only ones who actually listened to the ghost. Megan was playing hangman with Hannah and Justin. Sanne was doodling on some piece of parchment.

Just an usual history lesson if it hadn't been for the sudden bird made of paper which landed before the girl.

As soon as she reached out to touch the bird, it fell apart and only a piece of paper remained. The swirly handwriting was easy to recognize. Her grey-blue eyes crossed the room to find Draco grinning at her.

_Did you read the Prophet? Great news, eh?_

Sanne rolled with her eyes as she read the message. So. This again. She wasn't the type to keep talking about a topic when she knew she couldn't change somebody his opinion. Too bad that that wasn't the way Draco handled situations like this.

She crumbled the piece of paper and whispered "Evanesco" which caused the paper to vanish. As she looked up again she could see how Draco his grin had disappeared. _"What?"_ Sanne formed with her lips without actually speaking and saw how the boy looked away with an annoyed expression.

That wasn't the end of it as it became clear when the lesson was over and the students hurried out of the classroom. It was hard to believe it was just a coincidence that Draco and his pack ended up right after the group of Hufflepuffers. Neither was it surprising that the Slyterhin spoke just loud enough so Sanne and her friends could hear him.

"Yeah, Umbridge as High Inquisitor is the greatest thing that ever happened to Hogwarts, but ofcourse not everyone is able to understand that. Some people just don't have the brains to grasp the importance of figures like Umbridge. Especially a slow house like Hufflepuff."

If it wasn't for Ernie and Justin quickly grabbing both of her wrist, Sanne would have turned and probably slapped him. Her face had turned red as he walked by and winked at her which only fed her anger. Pansy Parkinson giggling teased her ears, begging the girl to react.

"How dares he! I defended him yesterday!" She screamed as soon as the boys pushed her to a more quiet hallway. Megan stood next to her and patted her on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't think to much of it, Sanne. He is just trying to play cool in front of his friends. You know what boys are like." Megan her words caused Ernie and Justin to protest which calmed the Hufflepuff girl down again and even made her snicker a bit.

"And it ain't no surprise that Slytherin supports a troll like Umbridge," Ernie added folding his arms in front of him.

Sanne glanced at him for a bit trying to decide whether she was still angry at him or not. He could have said something different. Something more like 'I told you so' or 'You see, that boy can't be trusted.' The fact that he hadn't was something she respected.

After a few seconds she smiled at him and nodded as a sign things were okay again between them.

"And now we should really move! I don't want be late at Potions, Snape takes every chance to subtract points from each house that isn't Slytherin," and the new found respect for the prefect was gone again.

As the girl glanced at Megan she could see that she rolled with her eyes. "Well, he is a prefect and we should listen to him, right?" Sanne was pretty sure Ernie didn't hear the sarcasm in the blondine her words. And maybe that was a good thing.

The next lesson passed quickly without any strange moments. Sanne, one of the few, had passed her first potions essay. It was only an A, but still – it was good enough and the fact she was the only Hufflepuff which hadn't failed the essay could make her grin for the rest of the day.

During lunch she purposely didn't look at the Slytherin table as she decided to give Draco the cold shoulder for at least two weeks. That should teach him.

As she left the Great Hall, ready to go the next lesson, a voice stopped her.

"Sanne!"

A voice which belonged to a person she hadn't thought about thanks to the news of Umbridge and Draco his irritating behaviour. A voice which belonged to a person she quite happy to have forgotten about for as long as it had lasted.

"Fred and -," she faked a happy tone as she turned around in expectation to see both twins. To her surprise there was only one.

Only George.

It was an odd sight to see just one of the twins. She was so used to seeing them both, it felt like there was something missing now Fred wasn't there.

"You have Quidditch training tonight, right?" George either hadn't notice her surprise or decided to completely ignore it as he walked closer to her.

"Do you mind if I come and watch?" He asked as Sanne still stared at him in silence: completely baffled by the fact that he was alone.

A silence fell which made the twin chuckle. "Don't look at me like that. I don't want to spy on the team, I am just curious to see how you play and maybe, after the training, I can give you some tips or something like that."

The red haired boy seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact why she was really glancing at him with suspicion. In every other situation his assumption about her would have amused her, but right now she was more concerned about the fact why he was alone.

"Ah, come on," the boy laughed as she stayed silent. He walked a little bit closer and placed his hand on top of her head to ruffle her hair. "Where is the good trusting Hufflepuff I know?"

Her brain didn't seem to be able to function anymore. Why would he want to watch her play? Shouldn't he be causing ruckus with Fred or anything like that?

"Okay," she finally sputtered.

She could see how a smirk appeared on the Weasley twin his face as he let go of her hair. "Alright then and now hurry up. I am afraid that prefect boy will explode if I keep you away from your next lesson any longer."

The next moment George had disappeared and Sanne was left still feeling baffled. This day wasn't even over yet and had already been a very strange one.


	7. Chapter 7 The First Quidditch Training

**The First Quidditch Training  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"Ey! Sanne!"<p>

The girl was busy talking to her Quidditch team leader when somebody called her name. Both she and the boy which accompanied her stood still in the hallway. He was a tall and athletically built making him a perfect beater. His skin was dark and his eyes had an enchanting green colour.

"I am not going to let my new seeker miss our first training," he spoke as he watched how the person who had called out Sanne her name came closer.

"Oh, don't you worry, Grus," she calmed him down.

"George just wants to watch the match, he ain't gonna kidnap me or something like that," she added jokingly, but the face of her team leader turned sour.

Meanwhile the Weasley brother had joined the two and looked at them with a big grin on his face. His hands were nonchalantly put away in the pockets of his robe.

George first looked at her, his eyes sparkling with excitement which made Sanne think he was planning something mischievous. Then he looked at Grus with a serious expression. "Hi, I am going to spy on your training tonight!"

Sanne had to bit on her tongue to not burst out in laughter. The dark boy his expression had already been disapproving, but now just changed into something really sinister. The twin brother couldn't have said anything more wrong.

"Well, I can't forbid you to watch, it just I always thought that Gryffindor was a little bit more fond of fair play," the tone of the Hufflepuff boy his voice was bitter.

He clearly didn't know George was merely joking around with him. For a second Sanne debated whether she should tell him, but a quick wink from the red haired fellow kept her mouth shut. Her cheeks turned a soft pink colour as she tried to held in her snickering.

"Oh, but even a Gryffindor knows when they need to be cunning. Maybe I will even take some notes so I can discuss everything with my team."

As George spoke he carelessly placed his arm around Sanne her shoulders and pulled her a little bit closer to him. Grus looked less amused with every word that was spoken. He even clenched his fist: a little thing which caused George to grin like a Cheshire Cat.

"But, Grus, what were you saying about that new tactic you were planning for tonight?" Sanne couldn't help but to provoke the boy a little bit more.

"Not now! By Merlins beard!" The dark skinned boy yelled out before he stomped away.

As soon he had turned the corner Sanne and George burst out in laughter. Automatically she placed her hands before her face, hiding her amusement.

"Weasley. You really are the worst," she chuckled while looking between her fingers.

The boy had let go of her shoulder and stood some steps away from her. The amusement was still visible in his brown eyes as his laughter faded away. She lowered her hands, yet a little smirk lingered on her lips.

"I can never pass the opportunity to needle Grus Boregett – it's just too easy," explained the boy as he came closer.

He placed his arm around her shoulder again and wanted to walk further. Sanne, however, stood still as she glanced at the hand resting on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She pointed at his hand, still resting on her shoulder. "I don't think you have to pester Grus any longer. He is not here anymore, you know?" Sarcasm slumbered in her words and one of her eyebrows was risen with slight provocation.

"Well," George snickered, "I think this is quite comfortable so that arm ain't moving."

Sanne was surprised to realize she was quite content with that answer and decided not to complain about it anymore. As they walked towards the Quidditch field George spoke about new inventions and ways to bother Umbridge while Sanne her fingertips caressed his. She didn't even realize she was doing that until she caught George looking at their fingers. She immediately lowered her hand and was left with an awkward feeling.

As they arrived at the locker rooms Sanne turned towards the boy. She needed to tilt her head a bit to look him in the eyes. "I think it's better you go. I don't want to stress Grus out too much. It's the first training with the new team, after..."

She could feel George ruffling her dreads as her voice died away. She wanted to finish her sentence with 'after Cedric passed away', but somehow couldn't find the words.

The girl expected her friend to protest so she was just a little bit taken back by the reaction he gave instead.

"I understand," he kindly said while his fingers still played with her dreadlocks. "And by the way, Fred and I really need to show off those puking pastilles."

"Showing off? Testing them out, you mean!" Sanne laughed.

After saying their goodbyes, Sanne walked into the locker rooms to find a completely worried Grus and a clearly more amused rest of the team. That was with the exception of Zacharias Smith who looked neither looked worried or amused. Rather angry.

"So? Is that Weasley boy watching? You know he is in the other team, Sanne!" Zacharias barked at her causing Sanne to grin just a little bit.

"Calm down, cub," she sarcastically replied. "He ain't watching."

Almost immediately she could hear a sigh of relief coming from Grus which seemed to relax a bit more. He softly laughed as he saw the amusement on Sanne her face. "You guys were just teasing me, I suppose." Sanne could only nod, feeling just a bit guilty.

The training didn't go terrible, but you couldn't describe it as smooth either. The first part of the training Sanne spent watching the others. The team could be called a chaos. The players clearly weren't used to each other and Sanne felt thankful that people weren't watching. It was embarrassing how many times the Quaffle was dropped.

While the sky started to turn a darker colour, Sanne realized she really had to focus on her own training instead of that of her team. During her try-out she had found the Snitch within ten minutes, but that had been more likely thanks to luck than actual talent.

As she flew around the field, she noticed a figure sitting in the Slytherin tribune. Could it be?

She turned towards the stand and her eyes fixated on the shadow trying to see of her thought was correct. Sure enough she noticed some light blonde hair. It had to be.

As she tried to decide if she should say or do something, she suddenly saw a gold shimmer in the corner of her eyes. The snitch! She quickly turned and saw the golden ball. She moved her broom towards her goal and started to fly quicker and quicker.

Somewhere in the distant she could hear Grus cheer, but her concentration was on the snitch.

She wanted to catch it.

She _needed_ to catch it.

That way she could impress Draco. That way she could prove she was worth his attention and affection. That way she could show him she was much better than Pansy Parkinson. Smarter, prettier, better with a broom.

She gasped as her fingers felt the cold steel and grabbed the snitch. A loud, proud roar escaped her throat.

She did it!

A sharp whistle demanded her to come to the ground where the whole team gathered. This time it was Grus who was grinning.

"Well, that wasn't too bad of a training. Remember that this is the first training with a whole new team, so don't look so discouraged Ylthel. And Sanne," the dark boy turned towards the girl, "Congratulations on catching the snitch. If you do that again with every game we play, I am a happy man."

After she changed back to her school uniform she quickly left the locker room before any of the team had the chance to follow her. Her eyes wandered over the fields and its surroundings. He should be still be there right?

She couldn't help but to feel disappointed when she realized Draco hadn't waited for her. It even made her question whether she had really seen him during the training.

Irritated she walked back to the castle as she remembered her plan to ignore the Slytherin boy for a couple of days. So was so weak: she already had forgiven him the first moment he had shown some interest in her.

Clearly her bad mood was visible when she returned to the common room. Megan sighed and shrugged her shoulders the moment she laid her eyes on the dreadlocked girl.

"Was the training that horrible?" The blonde girl asked.

Sanne shook her head, but didn't feel like explaining what really was bothering her.

Megan sighed a second time.

"Just write him a little note like you always do after you two had a fight."

Sanne looked at her friend with surprise. She never realized Megan had picked up on that ritual between her and Draco. Yet she opened her mouth to protest.

"Just do it. You know he ain't gonna and it always makes you feel better," the other girl quickly said before Sanne had any chance to object.

"Okay, okay," she finally said as she walked towards the bedrooms.

* * *

><p><span><em>Did you see me catching the snitch? Not bad for a Hufflepuff girl, eh?<em>

She read the words again and nibbled on the end of her quill. It didn't feel right just yet.

_Did you see me catching the snitch? Not bad for a Hufflepuff girl, eh?_  
><span><em>P.S. Sorry.<em>

She nodded as she read the parchment again. Better. Her eyes wandered over the last five letters as she suddenly understood why Draco had felt the need to snap at her.

Not only had she ignored his message – she hadn't told him she was the new Hufflepuff seeker. It hadn't occur to her till just now. She didn't know how he had found out, but undoubtedly he had. There weren't many things Draco didn't know.

Softly she whispered to spell the change the piece of parchment in a bird which fluttered before her eyes. "For Draco Malfoy," she had just spoken the name and the bird already flew away.

More than a quarter of an hour had passed when a little, paper bird returned and fell apart on the cushion of her bed.

_Indeed not bad. Considering you are girl and considering you are Hufflepuff._  
><span><em>Maybe we should play together sometime, you can probably learn a lot from me.<em>  
><span><em>I am looking forward to it, my rival.<em>

Her eyes kept travelling over the swirly handwriting over and over again. Megan was right: it always did make her feel better to write Draco.

With the little note clinched in her hand, the girl finally felt a sleep and dreamed about golden snitches and silver haired boys.


	8. Chapter 8 Defence Against the Dark Arts

**Defence Against the Dark Arts  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Days seemed to pass quicker than Sanne was used to. With lessons, homework and Quidditch training there nearly remained any leisure time at all. Needless to say she hadn't seen much of the Weasley twins and Lee. Neither she had had time to play Quidditch with Draco.<p>

To be completely fair, she hadn't miss it. With her busy schedule the girl was rather fond of the moments when she could just relax. These moments she either spent in the common room playing games with her Hufflepuff friends or in the school kitchen next to the common room, baking sweet goods.

It was a late Friday evening when she returned from the kitchen with some chocolate chip cookies. A group of third graders gathered around her asking for a piece, as Sanne walked to the table were Ernie and Hannah were whispering.

The plate with cookies was almost empty when she, finally, had reached her friends.

"So, what are you guys being so suspicious about?" she asked as she placed the baked goods between the two prefects.

Hannah and Ernie quickly looked at each other and after a couple of seconds Ernie nodded. It made Sanne all the more curious.

"You better tell me or no cookies for you guys," she jokingly said while she slowly moved the plate away from her friends.

"You know how Umbridge is being a horrible teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts?" Hannah started to explain. Sanne quickly nodded curious about what would follow.

"And with You-Know-Who is back and everything I think we really should learn how to defence ourselves against the dark arts," Ernie added with a serious expression.

"And with the lessons we get from Umbridge we are never going to learn that," Hannah continued. "So –."

"Harry, Hermoine and Ron are planning to teach students themselves!," Ernie interrupted and grinned out of excitement.

For a short moment Sanne wondered if Ernie was more proud of the fact he was on first name base with Potter and his friends or that he was invited to join these lessons. She watched him as he quickly stuffed a cookie in his mouth.

"And these lessons – are they just open for everyone?" The dreadlocked girl asked the other girl.

This plan had sparked her interest for sure. Not only would it be useful to sharpen her magic skills, it was an opportunity to get to know Potter and his gang better. The only Potter she knew was what she heard from the anecdotes of Draco, but the recent 'fights' the boy who lived had with Umbrigde told a different story. Not really the coward which hid behind Dumbledore and the like which Sanne always made him out to be.

And, maybe, she could hear what really happened to Cedric.

"Yeah, I think you can probably join us," Ernie replied after he had swallowed the last bite of his cookie.

"I mean Zacharias is coming as well and so is Susan," the boy added to his former words.

"Zacharias?" Sanne repeated out of surprise.

Her grey-blue eyes wandered over to the table were a couple of fourth graders were talking loudly. The loudest of them all was a blond haired boy which, as he spoke, was making wild hand gestures. Two girls stared at him in awe. The boy next to him laughed after every joke the blond boy made.

He was a Badger like herself and she would never talk bad about him because of that, but if she had to name one person which she taught it was odd to be placed in Hufflepuff, it would be Zacharias Smith.

The boy had a charming, but also cunning way over him which seemed more fit for a Slytherin than Hufflepuff. And Sanne always had the feeling that he would rather protect himself than his friends which didn't correspond with the morals of her house.

"Yes, he heard us talking with Hermoine and said he wanted to come as well. It would have been rude to say no," Hannah explained.

Sanne shrugged her shoulders. It wouldn't be too terrible if Zacharias joined them. He was an odd character in the Hufflepuff house, but not a bad person. And if he wanted to learn, he had the right to learn. But Sanne doubted whether he wanted to learn about Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"So when is the first meeting?" she asked, bringing the subject of conversation back to the lessons.

"Tomorrow," Ernie replied with a excited grin. "In the Hog's Head."

* * *

><p>"But where will you find the time to participate in those lessons?"<p>

Sanne had her fingers wrapped around a mug filled with hot chocolate. The whipped cream covering the beverage slowly melted and left white traces on the outside of the mug. The girl looked at her friend sitting on the other end of the table.

"I think learning how to defend myself, and others for that matter, is more important than homework, Megan," the girl replied.

Sanne had been quite surprised by Megan her reaction about the new 'club' for Defence Against the Dark Arts. She had thought her friend would have immediately been interested like herself. However Megan seemed to be hesitant towards the idea.

The two were sitting in a corner of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. It was their usual place to visit when they were in Hogsmeade. The hot chocolate and tea were the best in whole the village and it was a good place to gossip and discover new rumours.

But today the subject of conversation hadn't been about the new couples of Hogwarts. Although that Weasley girl and Michael Corner seemed a very tempting topic to discuss. The two almost seemed to melt together – busy kissing as they were.

"I hate to admit, but I think Umbridge has a point. First let me finish," Megan added as she saw the horrified expression on Sanne her face. "As long Dumbledore is headmaster of Hogwarts, we have nothing to worry about. I think our focus should be on the OWLs and not on an attack that isn't likely happen."

Sanne pouted her lips and shook her head out disagreement.

"Is't likely happen? You remember what happened to Cedric, do you?!" She couldn't help that her voice got louder causing some couples to stare at the two girls.

"Ofcourse I haven't forgotten about Cedric. How could I? But I stand by my words. Hogwarts is a safe place and, on top of that, I wouldn't provoke Umbridge too much," Megan reacted.

Annoyed Sanne took a sip out of her mug, not knowing how to respond anymore. Megan certainly had a point, but at the same time Sanne thought it was a quite naive way of thinking. Hogwarts wasn't the safe place it always had been. The events of last school year had made that painfully clear.

A silence filled the room between the two girls as they both drunk from their hot chocolates. Sanne looked at Michael Corner which was finally released from tight embrace of the red haired girl and now was telling some story. The hufflepuff girl noticed that his girlfriend look rather bored and wondered what the boy was talking about.

Suddenly the couple stood up and left the tea shop.

"I think I should go as well. Are you sure you don't want to join me?" Sanne tried one last time to convince her friend.

"No, I probably going back to the castle. I still need to finish some homework for Potions," Megan stood up as she spoke.

The two friends quickly said their goodbyes and Sanne walked towards the Hog's Head. She had only been once at the dark pub. It had been in her fourth year, a couple of weeks after the Yule ball, and was for a date met Draco. The atmosphere had been so unpleasant, they had soon left the pub and wondered through the forest near Hogsmead instead.

The memory of that one cold, but happy day made the girl smile. A smile which disappeared as she entered Hog's Head. She arrived just behind Michael Corner and the Weasley girl and saw how Granger noticed her.

Sanne watched how the girl with the big hair moved towards Potter and said something to him. From the distance she could only hear three things.

_"... don't trust … … Draco."_

The girl with the dreadlocks opened her mouth to reply, but was lost for words. She felt as if a layer of ice was placed around her heart. For a couple of breaths she stood in the doorway and considered the option of just walking away.

It wouldn't be the first time people judged her for being close with the Slytherin boy, but every time it came as a shock. First of all was Draco not so bad as people made him out to be. Second of all had her friendship with him nothing to do with her being trust worthy or not.

She was still standing in the doorway as suddenly someone bumped into her. With a sick feeling she turned around and looked up to the face of George Weasley.

"George, sorry," her voice was clearly softer than was usual for her.

Behind him appeared the figures of Fred and Lee Jordan. All three of them were carrying bags from Zonko's Joke Shop which came as no surprise at all.

George his smile showed just a bit of concern. "You alright, Sanne?"

Sanne nodded immediately. She didn't want to bother any of them with her drama. She stepped aside so Fred and Lee could enter the pub, but George was still standing in front of her. He looked at her as if the reason for her beaten down mood was written on her face.

Finally he just raised his hand to ruffle her dreads as she slowly has grown used to.

"Alright then," he grinned. The boy placed his arm around her shoulders and pushed her closer to the rest of the group.

Sanne her eyes travelled to Granger and saw how the Gryffindor girl was looking from her to George and finally turned her eyes away from them. Sanne realized that the acceptance by Lee and the twins for now would be enough to be accepted by the rest of the group which had their doubts.

As soon as the Hufflepuff girl noticed her house mates, she slipped away from George his arm and sat down next to Ernie.

"I started to think you wouldn't come," was Hannah her first reaction to Sanne joining her group.

The girl forced a grin before she replied. "I tried to convince Megan to come as well, but without any success."

"Too bad, she will miss a lot of important things," Ernie said.

Before Sanne had the chance to say anything else, Fred stood in front of the four Hufflepuffers holding a couple bottles of Butterbeer. "Come on, pay up. I ain't rich yet," he explained while handing out the bottles.

"Eh," the nervous voice of Hermoine Granger caused everyone to stop their conversations.

The girl with the dreadlocks looked at Potter while Granger started a little speech about the reason behind this meeting. The boy who lived looked just as nervous as Granger herself.

The words spoken by the girl had been quite predictable. Something about Defence Against the Dark Arts, critic about Umbridge and taking matters in their own hands. Granger wasn't the best talker and Sanne started to loose her interest.

That was until she heard _the_ name.

"Because Lord Voldemort has returned."

The reactions were different, but she could feel how the tension in the room grew. She never heard somebody saying the name out loud. Hearing it now felt encouraging and haunting at the same time.

At last it was Zacharias who spoke as first. Sanne wasn't too surprised to hear him doubting the statement by Gryffindor girl and the little discussion which followed.

So this is was why Zacharias had decided to join the meeting. He just wanted to know more information about Cedrid his death. Sanne couldn't blame him. Not really. It had been one of her own reasons why she was interested in the 'club'.

The ruckus which followed the discussion immediately disappeared as soon as Potter opened his mouth to speak. All twenty-five pairs of eyes watched the boy which huge interest. Sanne felt just a bit disappointed when it all come down to a 'we are not going to talk about Cedric his death'.

Especially being from Hufflepuff, she felt as she had the right to know what really happened to her former house mate.

"Can you really make a Patronus?"

It was Susan who changed the subject dramatically. Her one question was followed by any more. Each of them proving that Potter had achieved a lot more than Draco would ever gave him credit for.

The rest of the meeting passed by rather quickly. Sanne didn't feel the need to question or add anything being said. Rather than that she studied the different persons out of the group, mainly the three leading the meeting. She wondered if her opinions about them would change if she got the know them better.

After the meeting she was standing outside with her Hufflepuff friends. Ernie was talking all high and mighty about how important this would be, while the rest of the group softly laughed about his excitement.

Behind him she could see Granger, Weasley and Potter walking back to Hogwarts. As Sanne watched them she thought of Draco. What would he say about this new project? Immediately the disapproving look of the Slytherin boy popped into her mind.

Maybe it was better to keep some things secret.


End file.
